


A Safe Space (Inside My Chest)

by PolypusRegina



Series: A Gentle Touch [2]
Category: Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Genre: Dare I say almost even a bit fluffy, M/M, Porn with Feelings, Post-Canon, Rimming, They're literally naked from the start of the fic to the end isn't that great
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-23
Updated: 2016-01-23
Packaged: 2018-05-15 18:10:21
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,670
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5794561
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PolypusRegina/pseuds/PolypusRegina
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Peace of mind doesn't come so easily to Hux. It never does, especially behind closed doors. But this time there's someone else there to help keep him from falling apart, and it's new to them both.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Safe Space (Inside My Chest)

**Author's Note:**

> NOTE :: This is meant to be a follow-up/companion piece to my other work, 'So Soft (And So Terrible)'. BUT they can also be read separately, for the most part. There's not a whole lot of plot to know...But some parts of it might make a little more sense if you know what happened previous to this. Either way, thank you for reading!!

It was later than usual when Kylo first awoke, feeling like he might as well have slept for a week straight. Though there wasn’t exactly any sunlight out in the dead of space to stream in through the windows and tell him it was morning, he could make a rough guess about the time.

When he tried to move, it felt as though he hadn’t so much as budged an inch the entire night, but he knew that couldn’t have been completely true. The last thing he remembered was slipping an arm around a rather reluctant Hux, pressing a sleepy snort of a laugh into the General’s shoulder when he tried to tell Kylo, ‘I’m not exactly a cuddler, you know.’ And he did know. He just didn’t particularly care. Hux could survive one night of being half-heartedly spooned.

But when Kylo finally pushed himself upright, Hux was gone. He’d been so dead to the world he hadn’t even noticed. Which was…perhaps a little unsettling in a way, that he was capable of being such a heavy sleeper. It wasn’t like him. It meant you were vulnerable, sleeping so soundly that nothing could wake you up. Like an intruder, or an emergency. Things that you really should be awake for.

But Kylo wasn’t particularly in the mood to think about any of that. The thought came and went, long enough to make him wonder what it might mean before he simply catalogued it in the back of his mind as something to consider later.

Right now, he just wanted to know where Hux had slipped off to. He’d probably already dressed and left for the day, with more important things to focus his attention on. And Kylo expected nothing less. What had happened the night before was…probably a lot for the General to handle. Even if Hux had been the one to initiate everything, Kylo knew it was all rather spontaneous—a heat of the moment sort of urge that Hux wasn’t accustomed to acting on. He was even a bit surprised that Hux let him stay the night at all, if he was being entirely honest with himself. But that night had brought out a side of him that Kylo had only ever seen tiny, fleeting moments of, like some skittish creature that no one believed truly existed. Kylo was content to have witnessed it even just once.

But only after he’d slipped out of bed and gotten to his feet did Kylo realize he could hear running water, and when he glanced over to his right, he noticed Hux’s bathroom door was mostly closed. Perhaps it wasn’t so late in the day after all, if Hux hadn’t already rushed off to oversee the Bridge. Or maybe Hux was taking a little time for himself as well. Whatever the reason, Kylo wasn’t going to waste the opportunity.

Not bothering to redress, Kylo padded over to the bathroom door, carefully nudging it the rest of the way open. If Hux was in the shower, he probably wouldn’t be able to hear it, but he was careful in any case. No need to ruin the surprise. He supposed there was the chance Hux might have been expecting him, but there was also the strong possibility that Hux had a similar thought about Kylo—that he’d simply leave as soon as he awoke. It would save them any uncomfortable discussion about what had happened, but luckily for Hux, Kylo wasn’t really in the mood to talk. He was in the mood to return the favor that Hux had so generously paid him the night before.

Kylo let the door shut about halfway behind him again before he made his way toward the shower stall, where he could make out the General’s shape behind the frosted glass, his back toward Ren as he faced into the spray of water. He paused there for only a moment before reaching out to slide that door open as well, pushing it aside just enough to slip inside behind him. And this time,  it seemed Hux was well aware of his intruder, probably more so because of the brief gust of cool air that followed him in. Kylo swore he could see the shiver dart up his spine before he lifted his head to glance back at him.

 Hux looked a little startled at first, wide-eyed as if he’d been so lost in his own thoughts that he’d completely forgotten Kylo was still there in his bed at all. But just as soon as he realized what was going on, he seemed to relax a little, shoulders sagging with a sigh.

“You enjoy sneaking up on me, don’t you?” Hux murmured, his words less of a question and more of a statement before he turned back toward the showerhead and scrubbed his hands over his face.

“Didn’t really count yesterday,” Kylo answered, voice still a little rough with sleep as he stepped up behind the General, his chest flush with his back. “I wasn’t sneaking up on you; you were just too busy staring at those reports to notice me.”

There was a barely-there grin pressed to the side of Hux’s neck then, a short-lived smirk, because that wasn’t exactly all true. Or…it was, but Kylo had definitely meant to catch him off-guard. He knew full well that Hux would be too wrapped up in his own head to notice anyone letting themselves into his room.

And Hux just answered with a soft snort of a chuckle, which definitely meant ‘right, sure, I don’t believe that for a second’. 

But while Hux saw right through his bullshit, he clearly didn’t seem to mind too terribly much, or else he’d be shoving Kylo away instead of letting him cozy up to him like a big, needy housecat. Kylo could sense a little bit of hesitance though, his body feeling strangely stiff for someone who’d presumably spent the last few minutes standing in a warm, humid shower stall.

“Is it my sneaking around that makes you so tense all the time, General?”

Kylo pressed an idle sort of kiss to the slope of Hux’s shoulder as he spoke, dragging his mouth up the curve of his neck toward his ear, tongue lapping up the drops of water from his skin as he went. He’d snuck his arms around Hux’s waist as well, one hand splayed wide over the flat plane of his stomach. Hux wasn’t exactly melting into his embrace just yet, but he could feel the temptation.

“You could consider it one of the contributing factors, yes,” Hux answered at last, unable to hide the teasing sort of grin in his words as he finally rocked back against his body just the tiniest bit. Kylo considered it a victory.

“Then the next time I need you, I’ll announce it as loudly and plainly as possible, so you’ll see me coming a mile away. Would that help?”

That finally earned another weak laugh from the General, a bit more genuine than his previous derisive snort, but still similar in tone. It still meant ‘I absolutely don’t believe you’ but at least this time Hux knew it was meant to be a joke. Kylo wasn’t about to start wearing a bell around his neck to announce himself wherever he went.

“My blood pressure might thank you, yes,” Hux answered anyway, as if he’d finally given in to the absurdity of what was going on and let himself relax a bit more. Once he tipped his head back against Kylo’s shoulder, the spray of water mostly just spilled down over his chest—and Ren’s hands, where they were idly sprawled against him.

Kylo just gave a wordless little hum of acknowledgement, too busy mapping a new path over the freckles on Hux’s shoulder to bother with anything more intelligent.

And while they might have just been teasing each other, there was still a shred of truth to it. Kylo was sure it didn’t take any vast amount of Force-sensitivity to sense Hux’s near-constant state of anxious tension. He always carried himself with an air of perfection, as if the way he walked and talked had been all but beaten into him since he was young. It was tragic in a way that Kylo could relate to, and yet knew nothing about.

Not that they had ever been close enough to discuss such touchy subjects. Until now, it was a quiet sort of camaraderie they shared. One that they tried so hard to ignore. Only now did that façade seem to be crumbling, and after the taste he’d gotten, Kylo didn’t want to turn back. But he knew all too well that Hux likely wasn’t on the same page just yet. He didn’t have to pry into his thoughts to figure that much out, either.

"You've been in here for a while, haven't you?" Kylo finally murmured before pressing his teeth gently into Hux's shoulder and soothing the faint mark with a kiss.

He could hear the General's breath hitch just a tiny bit, but he was still as stoic as ever otherwise, even standing there stripped bare in the shower.

"Forgive me for not keeping track," Hux answered, only about half sarcastic. But Kylo wasn't dissuaded so easily.

"No, of course not...why would you? I could practically hear you thinking all the way in the other room. Too much on your mind to focus on anything else.."

Kylo let his mouth find a new path down between Hux's shoulder blades as he went on, dipping lower and lower with each kiss and each fleeting brush of his tongue. Eventually he had to loosen his grip on the man so he could slouch down and continue his meandering trail, and Hux tipped his head forward again, water slicking his hair down over his forehead, dripping down the bridge of his nose. But he didn't have anything to say to that, which might have told Kylo everything he needed to know. It wasn't admittance; it wasn't denial. It was Hux struggling to deal with the turmoil inside himself and not trusting himself to put any of it into words.

"But...you told me to stay out of your head. And for once, I will. So I won't pretend to know what it is you're thinking about," Kylo added, lips brushing heat-flushed skin, almost as if he was only speaking to himself. "Even though, I could likely guess."

A second later and Kylo's knees were hitting the smooth tile beneath them as he knelt behind Hux, hands on either side of his hips to keep him in place while he peppered more kisses along the small of his back. It wasn't until he dipped even lower than that did he hear Hux finally break his silence again, huffing out a soft gasp as if he'd been holding his breath. He craned his neck to one side to glance down over his shoulder at Kylo, brows drawn together in his apparent confusion. But in his position, he wouldn’t be able to see much of anything.

"What are you doing?"

Kylo lifted his gaze to try and meet the General's, but didn't immediately answer. Instead, his lips just curled into a slow, lazy sort of grin as he pressed them to the bare curve of Hux's ass, and let both hands slide back toward himself so he could use his palms and spread him open.

"Helping you take your mind off things."

Kylo probably took far too much pleasure in something as simple as watching Hux’s eyes widen with realization, a flicker of something near  _panic_ written across his face when it all clicked. Which—he had to admit—would normally not be a good thing to see in your partner’s eyes. But Kylo didn’t have to struggle to read a little deeper than surface-level emotions, and knew that Hux’s apprehension wasn’t the sort to raise alarm. If Kylo Ren had been a better person, maybe he would have stopped to discuss it, refusing to lay a single finger on Hux until they’d done all the proper things, like talk about  _boundaries_.

But Kylo wasn’t. And judging by how quickly things had moved the night before, he was sure that Hux wasn’t, either. There wasn’t any room for discussion, no laborious pause to check in with each other every step of the way. But it wasn’t because they were careless lovers, either. It was just who they were; it was why they’d always worked so well with so few words shared between them. Only now, they weren’t staring each other down on the bridge of the Finalizer as they did, this was so  _so_ much more terrifying.

Kylo could just barely hear the wet click of Hux’s throat over the sound of running water before he finally murmured,  _“Ren,_ ” like a half-hearted warning.  And one that would be swiftly ignored.

He didn’t give Hux any time to protest before he was finally leaning in to press his mouth against the tight furl of his entrance, thumbs pressing into soft flesh to keep him open and bared. And just as soon as he’d made contact, he felt Hux stiffen under the gentle assault, giving a startled sort of cry as he pitched forward and had to press his forearms to the wall in front of him to keep upright.  The new angle of Hux’s body put him slightly beneath the warm spray of water, letting it pour over the nape of his neck and down his back. Kylo had to wonder if he could feel it trickling over all that newly exposed skin before he lapped it up, tracing a path upward with his tongue that was slick the whole way. 

Having Hux standing up wasn't exactly the most ideal position for this sort of thing, but Kylo was willing to work around it. The opportunity presented itself and he was powerless to resist it, thoroughly intent on providing Hux with a new sort of pleasure he likely hadn't ever experienced before. Perhaps he had--there were certainly things about him that Kylo didn't know--but given his initial reaction, it seemed doubtful. And if anything, it only spurred him on even more. 

Kylo kept his hands splayed wide over the curve of Hux's body, keeping him spread open but also keeping him pinned in place as he began to feel the General shift a little beneath him. He'd all but buried his face there against his skin, humming his contentment as he lapped and suckled at the delicate flesh around Hux's rim as if it might as well have been the most succulent fruit he'd ever gotten his hands on, and knew there would never be another one like it anywhere in the galaxy. That was to say, Kylo didn't do anything halfway. There was nothing halfhearted about the way he used his mouth, pressing and prodding so he could feel every little spasm and twitch as Hux squirmed under his assault. And there was no doubt about it, Hux was  _squirming_. Kylo could hear his breaths coming in choked little gasps, and he was certain that Hux had to be using a considerable amount of control to keep any other noises from slipping free. Which wasn't exactly what Kylo wanted. But he could be patient, for once in his life. He knew that it could be overwhelming, facing such a new, foreign sensation, so he wasn't going to be too cruel and force Hux to endure it until he came on his tongue alone. 

Hux didn't know that, though. That much became apparent when he choked out a wet sob and gasped, "Kylo, I  _can't..."_

It wasn't quite a plea for him to stop, but it wasn't quite the sound of Hux begging for more, either. In the end, it was simply a statement, a desperate attempt to make Kylo understand that he was too worked up to find release unless something changed. And Kylo considered it, wondering if he could help him along with a hand around his cock. But that wasn't what he wanted. Hux deserved better than that. Kylo wasn't going to stop until he'd destroyed every last thought in the General's mind that wasn't about how unbelievably good he felt. 

Kylo didn't stop right away, though. He continued his efforts as he considered his options, pressing his tongue into Hux just a little, just to hear his breath hitch so beautifully and feel him flinch as if he couldn't decide if he wanted to pull away or push back against him for more. Only then did he decide he'd gotten his fun, and took some mercy on the poor man. 

"It's all right, you don't have to," he murmured, loosening his grip on him at last and pressing another water-slick kiss to the curve of Hux's ass, right where his thumb had left a fading red mark. He could hear Hux give another sigh, this one full of seemingly bittersweet relief as his body sagged a little, leaning heavier against the shower wall as he relaxed. 

Kylo leaned up to drag his mouth over the small of Hux's back one last time before he hauled himself up off of his knees. Hux looked a little unsteady, still pressed close to the wall, but after another second or two, he seemed to recover enough to pull back and turn around, facing Kylo and putting the fall of water behind himself again. Kylo let his hands hover over his hips, fingertips just barely brushing against him. A faint reassurance that he'd catch him if Hux suddenly decided he couldn't trust himself to stay standing. His eyes were swallowed up by the black of his pupils, looking heavy and out of focus as he let them drag over Kylo's face, flickering over his features as if it was the first time he'd ever seen him unmasked. And just as soon as Kylo had lifted a hand to brush Hux's soaked hair out of his face, the General was on him, surging forward to claim his mouth in a rough kiss. 

It actually took Kylo a little by surprise. But he tried to make up for the short pause with even greater enthusiasm, cupping Hux's face in both hands and kissing him as if he might just devour him whole. He barely even stopped to breathe, only pulling back when he suddenly realized he didn't hear running water anymore. He glanced to one side and figured Hux must have reached behind himself to shut it off, but the logistics of it were the last of his concerns. 

"We're taking this to a proper bed, or so help me you'll have the pattern of this tile permanently etched into your back," Hux finally said, his voice rough and low, as if someone might possibly hear them. And  _oh,_ wasn't that a thought? Doing this where someone actually could. But it was an idea for another time, because Kylo was in complete agreement. 

"As long as you don't moan about damp bedsheets when this is over," he answered through a crooked sort of smirk, leaning in to steal one last quick kiss before he was taking Hux by the hand and leading him out of the shower. It was all he could do to keep from physically picking him up and slinging him over his shoulder, which he doubted Hux would enjoy quite as much. It did the job just the same, and a minute later, Kylo found himself being shoved right back down onto the General's unmade bed. 

It had memories of the night before flooding back into his head, reminding him of what it felt like to have Hux's hands on him, pinning him down, alternating between a crushing grip and a gentle caress. But as nice as it had been, Kylo had other plans. This was supposed to be about Hux, not him. This was supposed to be his turn to make Hux forget all about the trouble he might face outside this room. While they were in here, nothing could hurt them. Or maybe that was just the lie they told themselves that made it a little easier to relax into each other's embrace. 

"I'm not finished with you, yet," Kylo murmured (almost affectionately), letting Hux climb up onto the bed and on top of him, leaning up to nip gently at his lower lip before he promptly slipped out from underneath him. He rolled to one side and paused just long enough to grab the bottle of lubricant they'd used the night before, haphazardly tossed back onto the table beside Hux's bed. Maybe they had Kylo's Force-manipulation to thank for the fact that it hadn't ended up on the floor instead, or lost in the tangle of sheets pooled around them. He didn't remember actively doing such a thing, but in the heat of the moment, he wouldn't put it past himself. Sometimes he was capable of planning ahead. 

Hux, however, had that mildly lost sort of expression again, watching him retrieve the oil as if he had no earthly clue what he was up to. Between that, and the way his hair was still so unruly and damp, skin flushed all over, it took a considerable amount of willpower on his part not to just put everything else on hold so he could kiss Hux breathless for another hour or two. 

"You're thinking again," Kylo hummed, leaning over to tip Hux's chin up so he could compromise with himself and claim just one kiss. "I can hear it."

"Believe it or not, most people do that from time to time," Hux answered, lips still brushing Kylo's. But while his words were mostly soft and teasing, Kylo knew better. There was a defensive edge to them, as if he might be trying to deflect the knight's observation. It was very typical of Hux to write his own behavior off as completely normal, and suggest that it was everyone else who was mad. Though often times...he was entirely right. 

"I'm not like most people," came Kylo's reply, one corner of his mouth twitching up as he pressed in close again, words whispered against Hux's lips as if he might steal another kiss. "And neither are you." 

But the kiss never quite came, leaving Hux a bit dazed when Kylo suddenly pulled away, shifting to kneel behind the General as swiftly as he could. Moving quickly meant Hux wouldn't have time to overthink things and change his mind. Kylo didn't want to give him the option. But as he smoothed a hand down Hux's spine, urging his chest down against the bed, he could feel the resistance there in his muscles, unsure if he wanted to cooperate. 

Kylo wasn't about to resort to using the Force to bend Hux to his will. He'd used the Force in a lot of questionable ways--terrible ways--inspiring fear and pain in his enemies, and Hux would never be on the receiving end of that cruelty. But did it count when he was using it for pleasure? Using the faintest bit of it, like an invisible touch skimming over Hux's skin to try and coax him into relaxing? Using it to tease along the nape of his neck and into the dip of his navel and against the insides of his wrists and--

"Kylo,what are you--... _ah,_ what are you doing?" 

Hux didn't sound panicked, or even vaguely irritated like he had before. No, this time he sounded almost  _drunk_  with it, already a little out of breath as he sank into the mattress beneath Kylo's hand. He barely even had to touch him, this time. 

"Same thing as before," Kylo murmured, pausing to slick up his fingers, letting it drip over the cleft of Hux's ass before he swept up the glistening mess with his fingertips. "I'm helping you take your mind off things." 

It was all the explanation he needed before he was finally breaching the tight clutch of Hux's hole again, using his fingers in a way that was completely different from how he'd used his mouth. They weren't meant to tease. They almost weren't even meant to be a source of pleasure so much as a means to an end, nudging deeper into the heat of his body with eager purpose. 

Kylo knew it was just on the verge of too much when he felt Hux squeeze tight around him, body tensing for a second as he gripped tight at the sheets beneath them and gave a ragged sort of cry--the kind of sound that sneaks up on you. But it passed through like a wave, washing over Hux before he felt him relax again, going loose and pliant as he worked a second finger inside him just as soon as he was ready for it. Kylo was careful, wary of pushing too far too quickly, but he didn't drag his feet, either. It was all well and good, but Hux needed more than that.  _Kylo_ needed more than that. He needed that fleeting connection they'd shared the night before, intimate and overwhelming and perfect. Never before had he been with someone who could reach into his head and turn off his thoughts so terrifyingly efficiently, stroking over the vulnerable parts of his mind without even knowing what he was doing. He needed Hux to understand how good it could feel to let go, just for a little while. 

He needed Hux to trust him enough to let himself do it. 

"Just a little more, I promise," he murmured, nudging his fingers apart just a tiny bit further, working Hux open so the stretch wouldn't be quite so uncomfortable. And once Kylo felt he was ready, there wasn't anything else standing in his way.

Hux didn't answer, instead just giving another weak moan as Kylo pulled his fingers free, like a noise of protest and a sigh of relief all in one. But Kylo still had enough rational thought in his head to keep things moving, not making either of them wait another second as he curled slick fingers around his cock and stroked himself once, twice, before steadying Hux's hips and letting the head press against him where he was soft and warm and  _inviting_. 

"Just relax for me, Hux," he murmured, voice almost breaking a little under the strain of all that careful control. Slow, steady, but unrelenting as he sank inside, his gaze focused hard on that point where their bodies met, until the curve of Hux's ass fit snug into the cradle of Kylo's hips. Once he was pressed all the way to the hilt, Kylo almost needed to pause more for his own benefit than Hux's, eyes squeezed shut before he trusted himself to open them again. 

By this point, Hux was barely even on his knees anymore. His thighs spread a little wider as his body sank down into the mattress like he didn't even have the strength to keep his hips up. All his focus seemed to be elsewhere, and that was precisely what Kylo wanted. Hux had one cheek pressed to the pillow beneath him, arms curled up under it to have something to cling to as he gasped and panted for breath, dampening the fabric there. 

Kylo wasn't about to stop to reposition them, though, not just yet. He wanted Hux to feel good, and the first step was getting him used to the feeling in a comfortable position. Right then, Hux seemed pretty thoroughly comfortable, hips rocking back against him just a tiny bit--an experimental little swivel to really feel Kylo's cock inside him and test how much he liked it. The expression on Hux's face almost looked pained for a moment, mouth going slack as he finally let his eyes flutter back open, like he couldn't decide if the pleasure he felt was on the right side or wrong side of overwhelming. And Kylo was intent on toeing that line, pushing the General to his limits but never quite tipping over. 

He let his hands slide over Hux's body for a moment before he finally gave another proper thrust, one gripping his hip and the other splayed over the small of his back to keep him pinned as he worked to find his rhythm. It was easier said than done, though, when all his mind wanted to do was block out everything but the feel of Hux wrapped around him. It wanted to be selfish--wanted to tell Kylo to chase after his own pleasure first, but that wasn't the  _point,_ dammit.

The whole point was to get Hux to stop thinking so much and just let himself enjoy a moment of rare bliss, but consequently, it meant Kylo needed to keep his focus more than ever, concentrating on the General's body beneath him to try and sense what he liked and how he liked it. It meant tapping into that connection between them as he drove his hips forward and buried himself deep with each thrust, feeling every little twitch and shiver that he could elicit so he could find that perfect angle. 

By the time he'd found it, Kylo ended up draped over Hux's back, arms bracketing the man's shoulders, dark hair brushing over the nape of his neck as he scattered clumsy kisses over his shoulders. Hux was so far gone he could only manage a breathy little sob each time Kylo thrust back into him, the noise catching in the back of his throat when Ren's cock dragged hot and insistent over that hidden sweet spot. Kylo was so tempted to make Hux turn over then, putting him on his back so he could see him properly when he comes...But he knew he couldn't, not when Hux was so close. And he  _was_ close, practically trembling beneath him, muscles going tense all over. If anyone could manage to get so worked up during sex that they can't let themselves find release, it would be Hux.

"You're so close, I know you are," Kylo murmured, the words sinfully sweet as he pressed them to Hux's ear like a secret. And as he spoke, he shifted his weight just enough to free up one hand, letting it sneak up under the General's body and wrap around his achingly hard cock. It earned him another moan, a little louder than the others, and Kylo couldn't help but answer with one of his own, sighed into Hux's skin. 

 _That's it--...That's it,_ Kylo thought to himself; though it wasn't really to himself at all, instead whispering the words into the dark corners of Hux's mind as he rolled his hips down against him in a slow grind. He wanted to feel every last shudder, every delicious little tremor...  _Come for me, Hux._

And he did, as Kylo worked him through it with a filthy-slick twist of his wrist and one last little nudge of his hips, pushing him right over the edge. A sharp cry burst free from Hux's chest when the crest of his climax first slammed into him, the noise tapering off into a breathless silence as each ripple of pleasure coursed through him, eyes rolling back into his skull a little as he spilled himself hot and messy into Kylo's hand. 

Kylo wasn't much further behind, clinging tight to Hux as his lover rode out his orgasm, his mouth pressed open and panting against the nape of his neck. The last thing he remembered was Hux uttering the most beautiful little whimper, the sound of it proving to be the final straw before Kylo finally found his own release, hips moving against him as he spent himself there inside of him without a second thought. 

It took another moment or two for either of them to move after that, Hux's body sagging boneless against the bed, and Kylo following him all too willingly. He stayed like that for a minute until he felt like he might have the strength to move, carefully pulling free of Hux's body and shifting to collapse beside him instead, where luckily he was close enough to reach over and grab a tissue from Hux's beside table, using it to wipe off his hand. 

By the time he tossed it away and glanced back over at the man beside him, Hux seemed to be at least partially cognizant again, blinking up at Kylo with the sort of blissed-out expression that practically make Kylo's heart ache. But it wasn't a huge grin, or all dreamy eyes. It just looked like utter  _contentment,_ tired in the sort of way you feel after a lot of hard, satisfying work. Content in a way he rarely got to see Hux. 

"You have more training today, don't you?" Hux finally murmured, voice a little raspy. 

Kylo paused for a moment and sighed, shifting to press in closer and run a hand through Hux's nearly-dry hair before he answered just as softly, "I do. I still have much to learn, you know that." 

Hux didn't quite nod, but the look in his eyes seemed to confirm it. He didn't seem particularly sad, or angry, though. It felt like a reluctant acceptance, knowing there was nothing he could do to stop Kylo from going. And  _god,_  that was a foreign feeling to him, knowing that someone might actually care enough about him and his well-being to try and protect him from harm. He didn't need Hux to physically cling to him or beg and plead with him not to go. This was all he needed--the knowledge of it warm and light in his chest, and Hux's voice there in the back of his mind, telling him,  _Come back in one piece. Please just come back to me._

 

And Kylo would gather him close and kiss him, murmuring against his lips, "I will."

 

**Author's Note:**

> whOOMP THERE IT IS owo
> 
> I wanted to write more so badly, but I struggled with finding a good idea! So I hope this one didn't come across as too...I don't know, rambly? Meandering? Odd? I decided to change it up and write from Kylo's POV to explore the other side of things, and so bottom!Hux just happened. I would love to keep writing, but I'm not sure I'll be doing any more in this particular verse. If anyone has any ideas or prompts (or, ahem, kinks) that they'd like to see, maybe I can make it happen! 
> 
> Otherwise, yeah. Thanks so much for stopping by, and thank you to all the beautiful people who commented on my last fic! I hope you enjoy this one just as much, and comments are still as appreciated as ever. c:
> 
> (And my tumblr is still theearlgreyalpha if you want to pop over there, too. Talk at my face and stuff.)


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